Companies that provide services or products over the Internet often collect a wide range of data from their customers and process this data to obtain aggregated insights into their client's behaviour.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art corporate-centric computer network 100 with three participating customers or users 102, 104 and 106 operating three respective Internet enabled communication devices, such as smartphones, 108, 110 and 112. The users 102, 104 and 106 are registered with social media provider 114 and interact with each other by providing indications of their preferences, posting comments or uploading and tagging photos. In essence, these activities involve storing the personal data related to the three users 102, 104 and 106 on a database 116 operated by the social media provider 114.
Connected to the database 116 is a server 118 that analyses the user data stored on database 116 to derive aggregated information. The result may then be sold to a third party, such as an advertising company 120. However, users 102, 104 and 106 are reluctant to share private or sensitive information. Therefore, it is difficult to derive aggregated insights based on private or confidential data related to the users 102, 104 and 106.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.